Key Tips to Having the Best Accident Experience (when you are not at fault)

We know an accident is not a situation anyone wants to be in however there are some things you can do to make the experience better for yourself.

1. Always obtain the other person’s insurance ID card (this is the most important tip but do not attempt to obtain it if the situation is not safe).
2.  Take pictures of what occurred at the site, take a picture of your car, their car and a wide angle shot. Take down their driver’s license information, license plate information and as mentioned above their insurance ID card is priority #1.
3.  Do not allow the Police Officer to be the only one gathering information. Many, many times the officer will collect the insurance information and tell you that you can obtain it in the Police Report however a typically police report takes 5-9 business days to become available. Now what does that mean to you: –If you have full coverage you can start the insurance claim through your insurance and have your insurance and their insurance subrogate (determine who’s at fault and handle the reimbursement of funds) the claim so you’re not stuck waiting for repairs on your car. –If you don’t carry full coverage then you will be waiting for the police report to return with no repairs occurring to your car. If your car is undrivable then you have no vehicle while your awaiting this process.
4.  Recently, we’ve noticed a lot of the insurance carriers trying not to pay out on the claim telling the victims to use their insurance and then they will subrogate later with their insurance. If the loss is straight forward then there is no reason for that to occur. Why trust they will pay back your insurance carrier and change the fault of the accident. Now how do you avoid this without having to hire an attorney? You ask your Agent to 3-way call into the claims center so they understand your aware of your rights and have help on your side. I have yet to not have this work.
5.  We’ve also seen this quite often and recent with many large well-known carriers so be aware of this. You’re in a car accident and it’s not your fault. The other person is ticketed but it doesn’t stop there. You call into their insurance company to report the claim and they tell you they can’t move forward with the claim until they speak with their insured (their customer). Now that customer is having their car repaired and has no idea that their lack of communication with the claims department is holding you back so they continue to ignore the calls, voicemails and letters sent. The claims department will continue to try them every few days while you wait with the claims process not starting. We recently had a customer waiting over 21 days and they were told that it’s still an acceptable time frame and that they will not be doing anything until their insured calls. They said we’re sorry they don’t have full coverage and can’t utilize their insurance but we will not do anything until we speak with this person. Gulp. So how do you avoid this from occurring? You call the claims department daily (it always helps to be that greasy wheel) and ultimately the best way to full avoid this is to have full coverage insurance so you can use your insurance and allow them to subrogate once they get a hold of their insured. No, it’s not fair but that’s really the only way to avoid waiting for days, weeks and possibly months.

Did you know?

•  An accident stays on your record for 5 years
• Accidents are rated on your record as “at fault” or “not at fault” and are rated differently depending on the fault. A “not at fault” accident example would be a hit and run accident or someone not carrying enough coverage where you utilize your insurance to fill in the gaps.
•  When we refer to full coverage that’s just the common term for having comprehensive and collision coverage meaning your car is covered regardless of who’s at fault. It doesn’t mean your 100% fully covered because there are more moving parts to it (different limits you can carry) but it does give you a great deal of extra coverage than just carrying liability insurance.
•  As your Agent, we are there for you and always a call, text or email away. A good Agent will take the time to educate you, help make calls and to explain some of the best steps to take to get claims remedied. Your Agent should shine during this process because that’s really when you need them the most. If that’s not occurring then it’s time to shop around. Pricing isn’t everything!